About Friends of Cats

Cats in the feline AIDS enclosure at Friends of Cats are kept separate from well cats. At right, Faith, a blue point Himalayan, rests in the feline leukemia enclosure at the shelter. Howard Lipin • U-T PHOTOS

Cats in the feline AIDS enclosure at Friends of Cats are kept separate from well cats. At right, Faith, a blue point Himalayan, rests in the feline leukemia enclosure at the shelter. Howard Lipin • U-T PHOTOS

May 3, 2012-FLINN SPRINGS, CA| Faith, a blue point Himalayan cat in the feline leukemia enclosure at Friends of Cats on Old Highway 80 in Flinn Springs. |Howard Lipin /UT San Diego). Mandatory to Credit HOWARD LIPIN/U-T San Diego/ZUMA PRESS, U-T San Diego

May 3, 2012-FLINN SPRINGS, CA| Faith, a blue point Himalayan cat in the feline leukemia enclosure at Friends of Cats on Old Highway 80 in Flinn Springs. |Howard Lipin /UT San Diego). Mandatory to Credit HOWARD LIPIN/U-T San Diego/ZUMA PRESS, U-T San Diego

FLINN SPRINGS 
“Saving just one animal won’t change the world, but surely the world will change for that one animal” (Author unknown)

“That’s my favorite quote,” says Janet Bianchini, shelter manager at Friends of Cats, a rescue group in a converted house and former feed stores off Olde Highway 80 in Flinn Springs.

Bianchini and those who work and volunteer with the shelter know exactly how that quote fits into real life.

Friends of Cats is a shelter as well as a sanctuary that houses cats — more than 300 at a given time — whose owners can no longer keep them. Besides caring for the cats, the organization also works to inform the public about the importance of spaying and neutering pets.

“We and the county shelter and other animal rescue groups work hard to find a loving home for all adoptable cats and (we) take care of all of our sanctuary cats that will live their lives at Friends of Cats,” Bianchini said. “There are so many homeless cats out there; we need to spread the word to everyone that they need to spay and neuter their cats so that we can stop the overpopulation cycle.”

According to a 2010-11 report by the County of San Diego Department of Animal Services, 56 percent of cats that go into the shelters around the county are eventually placed in new homes; it’s often not a happy ending for the other 44 percent.

Friends of Cats does not euthanize, except as a matter of compassion if a cat is terminally ill or suffering. It is home to newborn kittens, older resident cats living out their lives, plus what Bianchini calls “an ever-changing population of adoptable cats.” The shelter has individual rooms set up with cat trees, shelves on which to climb and plenty of toys. There are outside trailers for feral cats, and separate areas for cats with such illnesses as feline AIDS and leukemia.

The group started in 1929 as the Animal Rescue League. There were a few name changes over the years, and in 1968 it officially became Friends of Cats Inc. The shelter is supported through memberships, revenue from adoptions and relinquishments, donations, fundraising activities, grants and legacies.